Rant: I tried making my own veggie stock for months before a simple swap saved me money

For about six months, I was saving every onion skin, carrot peel, and celery end in a freezer bag to make homemade vegetable stock. I figured it was the ultimate budget move, turning scraps into gold. The problem was, it took forever to collect enough for a decent batch, and the flavor was always kind of weak and muddy. Last month, I switched to just buying a jar of better than bouillon vegetable base for about six bucks. A teaspoon of that paste in a cup of hot water makes a way richer, cleaner tasting broth instantly, and the jar lasts me over two months of regular cooking. I was so stuck on the 'free scraps' idea that I didn't see I was wasting my time for a subpar result. The bouillon paste costs pennies per cup and actually makes my soups and rice taste good. Has anyone else found a store-bought base that works better than the from-scratch version for them?

3 comments

3 Comments

oliver71929d ago

Oh man, I think the real issue is that vegetable scraps actually need fat to make them taste good. Like, if you saute them in butter or oil first before freezing, the flavor is way better. I tried it once and it made a huge difference.

masonm851mo ago

Oh man, my buddy did the exact same thing with chicken bones.

maryh961mo ago

Wait, what kind of chicken though? Like, a whole rotisserie carcass is one thing, but those tiny wing bones are a whole different risk. They splinter so easy. My cousin's dog needed surgery after getting into wings, it was just sharp little shards everywhere. Makes you wonder if some bones are way more dangerous than others.